Film mogul Harvey Weinstein has ditched possible plans to walk away from Miramax, the business owned by Walt Disney that has produced memorable films including Kill Bill I and II and the English Patient.

Harvey Weinstein, who is the public face of the multi-Oscar winning business, apparently had a change of heart over recent weeks.

Last week's announcement from Disney boss Michael Eisner that he intends to stand down in 2006 appears to have played a role in the decision. The two men have clashed repeatedly over a variety of issues including compensation, budgets for Miramax films, the direction of the business and Disney's refusal to distribute the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob have been considering various options for their future once their contract with Disney expires in September next year. Harvey Weinstein had been considering setting up his own production company. Under a proposal that received significant attention, Bob Weinstein would have stayed with Disney, making movies under the Dimension Films brand.

However, those proposals have now been abandoned.

People with knowledge of the talks said the brothers now intended to stick together, no matter what happens.

A number of factors played into Harvey Weinstein's decision to stick with Miramax. In part it was for sentimental reasons; he did not want to abandon a company he and his brother built over 25 years from scratch and named after their parents.

He was apparently urged to change his mind by peers at the Venice film festival.

Disney was also reluctant about the brothers' idea of splitting. Ditching the proposals essentially puts the future of Miramax back in play. But one observer said the more quickly that Mr Eisner does step down, the greater the likelihood that the Weinsteins would stay with Disney.

A spokesman for Miramax said: "Bob and Harvey are grateful for the opportunities that Michael Eisner and Disney have offered them over the years and they hope to reach an amicable resolution that will perpetuate Michael Eisner's legacy and their own."

Miramax has brought Disney Oscar glory with films like Shakespeare in Love.

Mr Eisner, though, has been critical of Miramax, arguing that it has strayed from its original mission statement of producing low-budget, art house movies, instead making big budget films such as Cold Mountain and Gangs of New York which, while being well received by critics have proved disappointing at the box office.

The Weinstein brothers sold Miramax to Disney for $80m (£44m) in 1993.